We’re only 22 minutes into Sunday, but I thought I’d start writing this blog while I wait for the boys to get ready for bed. Now. Where was I? We’re up to Friday. Friday the 13th.
I was up at 8am to shower and get ready to head into Manhattan (on 5th, between 58th and 59th) with Josh for the highly anticipated Sex and the City tour.
After a coffee (for Josh) and an “everything” bagel with cream cheese (for me… I’m still trying to work out exactly what an “everything” bagel is, Wikipedia proved somewhat useless in this case), anyway, we lined up at the fountain across from The Plaza Hotel and waited patiently to be shepherded onto the bus. Our tour guide’s name was Lindsay and she was pretty great at her job.
The tour ran for about three hours, a lot of the sights we saw from the bus, but we also stopped a few times, and they showed clips from the show to put things into context. First stop was the Pleasure Chest where Charlotte bought the rabbit, then Buddakan the restaurant where Carrie and Big had their rehearsal dinner in the first movie. The interior of the restaurant was really quite impressive. A mix of classic decadence, Asian influences, and modern design… Incongruous, yes, but it works. The restaurant was also right next the The Chelsea Food Markets, something I’m definitely keen to go back and explore in the next few weeks.
We drove through Chelsea, into the Meat Packing District, and stopped on Bleeker Street for cupcakes from The Magnolia Bakery. Best icing ever! Josh happened to know where Carrie’s stoop was, just off Bleeker, so we went for a “sneaky stoop snoop” to get some photos. It’s lucky we did, because the bus didn’t stop there, nor did our tour guide mention anything… I guess there may have been complaints from locals. Anyway, we saw it. Lucky!
Down Bleeker, through to SoHo, our next stop was O’Neil’s or as it’s known in the show, Scout, where we drank a token cosmo (probably weak, but enough to give me a bit of a buzz). Then it was back onto the bus to finish up the tour, which ended at the HBO Store… Of course.
Josh and I (after briefly perusing the True Blood merchandise) wandered off on a mission to find, 1. Lunch. And 2. Hipster glasses for Josh. We found both. Lunch at Prêt again. Yes, twice in one week, but I can’t even begin to explain to you the greatness of the Prêt pre-packaged sandwich. And then H&M came through with $6 hipster glasses. So we went home… There was a party to go to and I needed to get changed.
Changed and refreshed (me), we got the subway to SoHo and waited on a corner for our companions, Mikey (Josh’s new New York friend from Ireland) and Justin. Approaching the venue, a design studio called SVW, it looked very much like a group of people having a brief drink while still working. So we loitered outside for a while… Let me briefly explain our extraneous link to this party…
At some point before heading overseas Justin briefly toyed with the idea of doing a weeklong graphic design course in New York. While he didn’t end up participating, someone outside of the immediate circle sent him an invitation to their closing party.
So, we built up the courage to go inside and made our way to the free beer, wine, and cheese. We weren’t entirely sure if we were permitted to be at this party, so we hid behind a pole for a while, cautiously drinking our share of the bar. Anyway, we soon realised that there were others like us and started to relax.
There was a blackboard covered in words that the students had come up with or overheard during their course and while one guy, uh, “mixed beats?” another rapped using the words on the board. That was pretty cool. And there were free buttons (or badges) and people making stickers…
We left the party at 11pm, a party that was meant to run from 6-8pm. I’d call that a success. We had midnight burgers at a café in Times Square, all bright lights and amusing conversation.
And then we headed home… As we walked to the platform for the 7 train at 42nd Street station, I saw a sign overhead that said “SO TIRED” and that was exactly how I felt… So naturally, I took a photo of it.
Home, desperately-required shower, some Josh silliness, bed…
Love, Jules xx
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